Energy, Russia to be key EU priorities: Finnish foreign minister

London (Platts)--29Jun2006

Energy and the European Union's relationship with Russia are to feature
high on the European Union's agenda during the Finnish presidency that begins
July 1, Finland's foreign minister Erkki Tuomioja said Thursday.
Speaking at a Brussels press briefing on the work program ahead of
Finland's six-month tenure of the rotating presidency of the EU Tuomioja said
energy would be a central part of discussions with Russia in the second half
of the year.
"EU-Russia relations will loom large not only because Russia is our
immediate neighbor (Finland and the neighoring Baltic states have the EU's
only borders with Russia), but because relations with Russia have strategic
importance for the whole of the EU," Tuomioja said.
He said the Finnish presdiency would seek to build on the last EU-Russia
summit. "And energy issues will be quite central, not only in terms of
EU-Russia relations, but because of energy security, which is much broader
than EU-Russia relations. Energy is a very central part of the negotiations
that we are engaging in with Russia. And I believe that notwithstanding some
of the rather dramatic headlines, our future relations with Russia in terms of
energy will be on the basis of positive interdependence."
Earlier, Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen told his national
parliament on June 21 that external energy relations are on the agenda for the
informal meeting of EU heads of state at Lahti, Finland in October? and
Russian President Vladimir Putin has been invited to join the dinner after the
meeting to continue the informal discussions.
Finland plans to work to make the EU-Russia dialogue more open, it said
in a statement of its priorities published June 19. "We will seek to expand
the role of the Council. One way of doing so would be through regular meetings
of the Permanent Partnership Council on energy-related matters. Finland will
most probably organize a meeting of the PPC on energy during its presidency,"
it said. "Developing the dialogue on energy could also be linked to renewal of
the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement [with Russia] in 2007."
Finland's other energy policy priorities during its presidency include
completing the internal EU gas and power markets, developing an EU energy
policy, adopting the EU's seventh research framework program for 2007-13, and
making more use of energy efficiency measures and renewables.
"Energy policy goals and external relations should be linked to each
other more closely in such a way as to ensure that energy and climate policy
objectives are given more attention in dealings with third countries," said
the Finnish presidency. "Energy issues will play a significant role in a
number of the third-country meetings during Finland's presidency."
On renewables, the Finnish presidency said that the debate on a long-term
strategy and on possible new quantitative goals amongst other things may have
to wait for the German presidency, which starts January 1, 2007, since the
European Commission is due to publish its plans on renewable energy sources in
2007.

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